Mario Tennis: Tour to Stardom
by Cirno the Genius
Summary: The previous champions of the Royal Tennis Academy have come and gone, retiring to become coaches at the prestigious tennis institution. It's time for new ones to rise. Ace the new applicant has arrived to take up the challenge of doing just that. Her journey starts here, getting off the bus leading to the Academy. Time to reach the top!
1. Chapter 1

**The Royal Tennis Academy**

Ace along with her fellow tennis players were absolutely struck with awe as the bus containing them pulled into the massive arching driveway of the Royal Tennis Academy.

"Whoa! This is where we'll be playing?"

"Awesome…"

"Academy is great! Good thing we picked here instead of Factory!"

A tall gate made of gold was propped open in a welcoming fashion and blue towering walls helped conceal tennis courts behind it. The main office loomed over it all and in front of its gaping entrance were 3 figures standing.

"Look! Is that Alex!?"

"It is! Is he giving us a tour?"

"And that big guy must be Harry! He's huge compared to Alex!"

Alex and Harry. Anybody who kept up with tennis news _knew_ who they were and Ace was no exception. They were highly skilled players who took the tennis world by storm and rose to the pinnacle of any teenage tennis player's dream.

They were winners of the Island Open Tournament.

Alex had participated in two of the tournaments in separate years. One in Singles and one in Doubles with his partner Harry. His skill was unquestionable as he entered his first tournament in Singles as an unseeded and rookie player who went on to defeat one of his own coaches in the Semifinals. Anybody who doubted him as a player with no experience changed their tune when fans around the world including Ace and obviously the people on the bus, saw him win the finals against an opponent who defeated Academy's best player at the time. The media covered the arduous and intense 5-set final that had the young player on the ropes, but he had achieved victory with a tiebreaker that ended at 19-17 in his favor.

The following year, he had shown his talent once again by competing in the Island Open Doubles Tournament with Harry. It was a spectacle that nobody could forget. Players and fans interviewed were still skeptical of Alex's first victory and believed that it could simply be a fluke or just plain luck. That was quickly tossed aside when the two Academy players seized another gold trophy.

They were rising superstars who tennis players looked up to and awed at. There were even rumors that the two of them had taken on the legendary Mario who was undoubtedly one of the best players in existence. It was never confirmed from them however and there were supporters on each side that debated whether or not it was true. Only a year later when the next Island Open Tournament took place, Alex had declared that he would not be participating and was retiring from the tennis world as a player. Harry had done the same.

Everybody was outraged at the sudden decision and was only mildly comforted when they became coaches at the very school they had enhanced his tennis at. In fact, the same went for another famous duo that had coincidentally ended the very same way.

Nina and Kate, two female tennis players had also brought home two more golden trophies for the Royal Academy of Tennis, but had retired in a similar fashion as their two male counterparts. Due to their success however, Academy had an overflow of applicants to their tennis program the following year after their fourth year in a row winning the trophy that brought the highest prestige to their facilities.

Who _didn't_ want to learn the secret to Academy's success? Who _didn't_ want to be hailed as a champion of the same caliber as the four retired players of Academy?

The door of the bus opened and the new applicants rushed out in a hurry to the dynamic duo of Alex and Harry along with the Headmaster of the Academy. Ace was the last to exit, standing in the back of the crowd while the Headmaster stepped forward.

"Welcome to the Royal Tennis Academy!" He greeted warmly, hands behind his back politely. "I hope you have enjoyed your ride here!"

There was a murmur of agreement from the young crowd.

"I am the Headmaster! Over to my left is Alex, one of the coaches here at the Academy." The man gestured in the direction of the young man dressed in athletic gear. "Over to my right is Harry, another coach at this fine Academy."

Amazement settled in on the new recruits as the former superstars politely smiled at them. The gathering whispered among themselves in awe as they gazed at the former pros.

Alex stepped forward from his spot.

"Hey everyone. Like the Headmaster said, welcome to the Academy. Before we do anything else, we'll be giving you guys a tour."

Harry, the colossal man compared to Alex stepped forward from his spot.

"Right. We'll split into two groups so I want half of you to follow Alex and the other half with me. We'll stop for dinner halfway through and we'll end at the dormitories. Now, line up please."

…

Ace sighed in relief as she set her luggage and hot pink tennis bag onto the floor of her dorm room. The tour of the Academy had stunned her in astonishment and she was sure the rest of her fellow newbies had felt the same way.

The Academy was _massive_ for a facility that emphasized tennis. There was an enormous lodge that housed every single one of the staff. The cafeteria in the Academy Lodge served three square meals to staff and student alike with enough tables to seat everybody. On top of that, there were several different areas with their own numerous sets of courts. However, it was the central court had definitely stood out the most. Not only was it styled like an outside arena match, seats surrounded the composite court and only Varsity level players could play there. Two of the Varsity players, one with blue hair and glasses and a burly boy with blond hair had even shown a bit of their skills as requested by Alex to demonstrate what a Varsity level tennis player could do.

Ace and every other new resident at Academy was left with a gaping jaw and wonders on how it was even possible to play at that high of a level.

There was also a large training center that housed several tennis machines, treadmills, weights, and even a special tennis wall to practice against.

There were several other buildings as well , but they slipped the fourteen year old girl's mind as she laid sprawled on her back on her pre-prepared bed.

"Soft…" She murmured as the tension slowly eased out of her tired bones. "I should unpack all my stuff and get to sleep. The coaches said something about a Welcome Workout or something."

She had a hunch that it was anything but pleasant from the grins the two legend turned coaches had when they mentioned it.

…

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Alex called out as all of the new players snapped to attention and cut their chattering to look at him from the other side of the Varsity court. "Welcome! As I mentioned yesterday, you'll be doing something of a school tradition called the Welcome Workout today."

He took a moment to look at the various reactions that he received. Most of it was confusion, but there were a few such as doubt, anxiety, eagerness and caution from this particular group.

"Here with me are several other coaches who'll help me with the Welcome Workout." He gestured behind them and all five of them waved at the students. "All thirty six of you look like a tenacious group. However, the Royal Tennis Academy can only take so much students because of all the recent publicity we've been getting. No matter how much we'd like to, we can't accept everybody. Therefore, each of us will be testing you in a Singles match individually in a six-game set."

That caused a collective gasp from the new recruits. The audience mostly consisting of students already enrolled that had come to watch from the stands and seats looked at them sympathetically. Many of the recently enrolled still appeared fearless however, despite having to take on tennis coaches.

Whether it was due to bravado or foolishness however, the seniors found it hard to discern.

"We won't tell you what we're looking for. All we ask is that you do your best to win. When we call out your name, step onto the court and play. Everybody else, wait until you're called." Alex commanded as the group remained silent. "Before the matches begin though, we're giving you all ten minutes to stretch and think about any strategies you have or what plays you'll try. Good luck everyone."

Almost immediately, excited whisperings came from the new students while interested looks came from the spectators in the seats.

"Wow! We get to play with the coaches on the Varsity court!"

"Academy is the best!"

"I get to say I played with Alex or maybe even Kate!"

Ace was of the complete opposite thought.

' _W-We're playing against the coaches!? There's no way we'll win!'_ Her eyes widened in horror as she almost saw her chances of entering Academy go down the drain. How were they supposed to win against players and coaches who _obviously_ had much more tennis experience than everybody currently on the court? And why was no one else as flustered as she was? The odds were clearly against them!

Ace shook the negativity surrounding her away.

No, now wasn't the time to panic she thought. She had to think this through.

' _Maybe we're not meant to win? They said they were looking for something in our matches. What would it be though?'_

Criteria rushed through her mind as she began thinking of everything that could perhaps be the factor the coaches were judging primarily.

' _Obviously we won't ever be able to beat Alex, let alone the coaches. It wouldn't make sense if we failed just because we couldn't win. Therefore, they'll test us on different things like power or speed. The question is what are they looking for mostly?'_ Ace analyzed, thoroughly thinking on what the Academy coaches and legendary players would be on the lookout for.

' _I'll just have to show them everything. I'll show what I'm best at first and then what I'm bad at last.'_

She nodded internally, taking deep breaths and calming herself as a strategy began forming in her mind.

Yes. This was definitely the best course of action.

"Five minute warning until the first match starts!"

Ace squeaked in surprise and panic. "Eek! Oh no! I have to hurry and stretch!"

She rushed through her exercises such as sitting upright and reaching towards her feet with her hands. Ace performed her stretches with practiced ease. Her arms were pulled, her hips were twisted, her legs were stretched and although it was faster than she was used to, her exercises were complete.

"Time's up!" Alex announced and the students quickly stopped or finished up before standing up into attention. "First up is Leo. You'll be playing against Coach Kevin. Everybody else, move up to the stands until your name is called."

A young boy, not much older than Ace she noticed, stepped forward from the group. With dark brown hair and a white polo along with a yellow racquet in his hand, he looked every bit as confident as the rest of the student body that had arrived only yesterday.

Ace seated herself on the stand as she watched a man with brown hair groomed rather nicely with handsome hair also stepped forward with a racquet in hand.

"Wait… he looks familiar." Ace muttered between two other players who also stared at the opposing coach to their comrade.

"That's the Varsity coach! He used to play in the Island Opens!" A girl next to her cried out as both people on the court shook hands with each other and walked to their spots. "There's no way Leo's going to win!"

The girl was very much right. Leo had been allowed to serve first and did so with a smug grin from the singles line. It was quickly wiped away when Kevin returned it with his forehand masterfully straight to the opposite side of Leo. The young boy hadn't even had time to make it back to the center of the baseline before it had counted as Kevin's point.

"Love-Fifteen!" Alex announced from his referee seat while Leo looked stunned at the sheer speed and placement of the return.

The enthusiasm of the students playing against famous coaches slowly died away as the first point was only a harbinger of what was waiting for them. Fear gradually replaced the ecstatic energy they had as Leo attempted several different serves to position himself much better to prevent return aces from the Varsity coach.

None of them worked.

The down the line serve only had Kevin backhand it into the far corner completely out of the boy's reach as he dived futilely to return it.

"Love-Thirty!"

A serve from the Singles line placed near the center line next to the service box had promptly been sent back.

"Love-Forty! Break Point!"

An aggressive serve with a fair amount of power was sent straight to Kevin. Leo caught the older opponent's eyes widening for a split second and believed he had finally caught him off guard.

He had never been more wrong as it was dealt with the same way as all the other easy serves for the coach.

"Game! 0-1!"

Those words had shattered the excitement everybody had at playing against the former tennis pros. Even Ace could feel the plan in her mind developed to show all her skills to cater to them fall apart.

' _I-If every coach plays like that… I-I don't stand a chance…"_ She thought silently to herself as Kevin viciously began serving aces against the first competitor. Leo had managed to return one ball which had only ended in a lob. Kevin quickly responded to the high ball with a smash that the other player had absolutely no chance of returning. In a matter of only three minutes at least, the second game had been given to the Varsity coach.

Her eyes scanned the ball speed that Kevin consistently had. Mentally apologizing to Kevin's opponent for using him as a dummy to gather data, she began judging the coach. Based on how he was playing so far, she heavily doubted she would be able to return the majority of his balls. Already she could determine that any serves he performed would instantly be an ace against her.

They were all too fast for her to reach and rally back properly.

That left her own serves. They weren't very powerful, but she had good control of it at least. Kevin's was obviously superior to hers though and given the sheer speed of his swings and the ball, she wouldn't last most than three rallies at best. That was most certainly not enough to even show off any of her strengths. They would just appear as weaknesses or inadequate compared to Kevin so far.

She glanced at all the other varied expressions of her possible future tennis companions. Most of them had abject hopelessness which she was beginning to feel herself. Others had nervousness and bravado to try and shake off the fear that already had settled into the atmosphere. A small few had determination written on their faces with an unspoken message of a vow to fight on no matter what was thrown at them.

Now Ace understood why the Academy students already here gave empathetic looks.

"I give up. I can't win." Leo depressingly stated to which Kevin gave a neutral nod.

"Leo forfeits the match. Coach Kevin wins by default." Alex proclaimed and looking at the clipboard in his possession. "Will Holly please come onto the court for her match?"

A girl with short black hair framed around her face stood up with tennis bag in hand and nervously strode down from the stands and onto the field.

This time, instead of Kevin, a lady with light blonde hair tied in a ponytail stepped forward.

"Coach Emily will be your opponent. Good luck to the both of you." Alex said gesturing towards the older woman.

Ace had a feeling the luck was honestly just meant for Holly. She already had a defeated posture as she walked into her serving spot dejectedly. From here on, it turned into a cycle. She would mentally apologize for using the poor victims for analysis on the coaches as they each played. Coach Emily was just as brutal as Coach Mark. While her balls weren't as fast as Kevin's, they had nasty spins that left Holly stumbling onto the ground as it twisted just out of her reach.

Even her drop shots had a spin that rolled it towards the net which was almost unimaginable. The underhand slice on the ball would have to be massive for it to even be able perform such a thing. Emily had clearly demonstrated that her mastery of sidespins allowed her such a skillful move.

Coach Mark was next and whether or not it was intentional, Ace could sum him up with just one word.

 _Troll._

He gave the player he fought against hope. His serves and strokes actually seemed returnable. They struggled to do so but in comparison to Emily or Kevin thus far, it was a rope of life that players clung onto. Many of them had even prayed that they would hopefully play against Mark to not look as terrible as Leo or Holly so far. After all, it was the first match the newbies had won a game against and they cheered for the brave player courageously taking on an undoubtedly superior opponent.

That ray of light was promptly diminished when a serious glint flashed in Mark's eyes and all of a sudden, players could no longer rally against him. His opponent began panicking at his sudden inability to even counterattack against the red haired coach as his shots became sharper, stronger, and faster. They had been fooled and lulled into a false sense of optimism.

Mark even smiled at the sudden change and commented cheerfully once after a point.

"This isn't even my final form."

From there on, it was a complete victory for him with the final score being six to one and the defeated student walked back to the stands in tears.

Mark at least had the decency to apologize and give a sheepish smile.

Ace hoped she wouldn't be called next and her wish had been granted only once. The person before her faced off against Coach Kate. She was much kinder than the previous coaches thus far, but still practically dominated the entire match.

"Ace! Please enter the court! Your opponent is Coach Harry!"

Her eyes enlarged from shock and panic before quickly running down the stairs. She almost tripped down the steps, but she managed to get onto the court rather quickly.

She set her bag down onto the sides, grabbed a racquet and rushed timidly to the hulking coach awaited her on the other side of the net.

"Hey Kid! You ready?" Harry gave a bright smile as he outstretched his hand for a shake.

"Y-yeah." She quietly said as she shook his hand nervously.

"Hey, don't look so nervous. Just play your best like Alex said." He tried to ease her uneasiness.

Ace only nodded as Harry gave her a nod and handed her a set of neon green tennis balls. She moved into the corner and prepared to serve, looking at Harry's position.

' _Ok. I-I think I can do this.'_ She thought to herself as she began to turn her focus at the opposing coach. _'He's huge so he must be a power hitter. It can't be easy moving around with those muscles. If I serve from here to the center line as close as I can, he might not make it.'_

It sounded like a good plan to start off of.

Ace tossed the ball into the air with her left hand, focusing on it like a hawk before smashing her racquet held in her right hand onto the ball in a downwards fashion and sending it into Harry's side of the court. The ball landed in the service box corner closest to the center line and it seemed as if it would pass him easily.

' _I was right!'_

Not even a second later, she was dead wrong.

Harry pushed off both of his legs and positioned himself just in time to backhand the ball back to Ace.

Pushing aside her surprise momentarily, she struck it back into the corner only for Harry to effortlessly forehand it back straight at her.

However, as she returned the seemingly easy ball with a backhand, her wrist strained under the unexpected weight of it.

' _H-Heavy!'_

She managed to send it back deep into Harry's court, but he had already situated himself in preparation. The sound of the ball hitting a tennis racquet reverberated louder than normal as he sent straight back at Ace.

Once again, she backstroked it only for her racquet to be knocked right out of her hand. It clattered onto the floor behind her and she looked at the now dead ball on her side in shock.

' _It got even heavier!'_

"Love-Fifteen!"

Ace walked to retrieve her racquet from the ground as already, she began contemplating over the abruptly powerful shot that looked nothing more than a regular stroke from Harry.

' _I was right about him being a power hitter, but I didn't think he would be THAT strong OR fast!'_

Already, she could feel her wrist aching ever so slightly. It would be minor now she felt, but if she continued then her wrist and eventually her arm would numb.

' _I have to try again! I can't give up just yet! There's no such thing as an unreturnable ball!'_

She served again, placing the ball away from Harry and just as before, he guided it right back to her court. As she struck it back, she noticed it wasn't as powerful as the previous shots.

' _He needs time to hit any of his much stronger strokes. If I keep hitting it away from him, he won't be able to do that.'_

Ace continued her rally with Harry, sending the neon green ball into the corners as best as possible to prevent the coach from hitting another power ball and to keep him running.

It was working!

Harry was incredibly quick and had an amazing amount of control; more so than the average power hitter. It was a common flaw of power players to sacrifice control or speed in order to boost the strength of their hits into incredible levels. By keeping those types of players, Ace learned from a previous tennis experience, running and unable to use their strength, they would eventually get frustrated and miss balls.

Coach Harry was not that kind of player and Ace quickly learned that in the second rally thus far. She wasn't losing, but she wasn't gaining any sort of ground against Harry either. His excellent ball placements forced her to run as well and gave him time to reposition himself into a more easily defendable spot.

Once again, Harry performed the unexpected. He lowered his racquet lower than normal and struck the ball just barely over the net.

' _A drop shot! Oh no!'_

She sprinted for the low ball, diving for it and barely bouncing it over the net. Harry leaped into the air and smashed the ball down to the ground behind her. Her eyes barely caught the ball path as it left a small indent on the ground and flew into the stands with amazing force.

' _H-He's so strong! Can I even get a point off of him!?'_ Ace internally agonized as Harry's overwhelming strength netted him another point against him.

From there on, it all went downhill for her. Ace's strategy began falling apart as Harry became used to her movements and attacks. Her curved placements were slowly becoming pointless as Harry started predicting her shots and reacted quick enough to still gather enough time to send consecutive two-handed power shots that blew away her racquet. She had resorted to using two hands herself to try and hit the ball back properly, sacrificing her extreme control.

That didn't work either.

All of her power returns back were promptly met with another power shot from Harry until she finally had her racquet blown out of her hands from his sheer strength. When it became Harry's turn to serve, she couldn't even react as the ball reached speeds of one-hundred and ninety kilometers an hour. They were all service aces.

"Game! 0-4! Change Courts!"

Ace's dominant right arm was shaking uncontrollably and just as she predicted, it felt numb. Her left arm was already progressing towards that state. The both of them felt like noodles and her grip on her racquet was slipping. Her vision was starting to get blurry.

Returning any powerful shot always drained more energy than normal and she had done it repeatedly now. Sweat poured down her face and she gasped from total fatigue while Harry appeared to be no different from when he started the match. This was the _worst_ situation possible for a technical player like her going up against a power hitter.

' _I can't give up though! No matter what, I'll play until the end! I won't go back home!'_

She tossed the ball into the air to serve and bent her legs. The moment she did though, she felt like collapsing.

"N-no… Can't stop." She whispered, struggling to recompose herself and strike the ball. She was successful and Harry struck back, directing it right back to her.

Ace grasped her racquet with two hands and tried to return it, but even that had failed her as it was blown away and the point was given for the return ace.

"Love-Fifteen!"

Another weak attempt ended in the same result as before.

"Love-Thirty!"

Even raising her limp serving arm to hit the ball was now becoming too much for her deadweight body to handle. Ace could vaguely hear someone shouting for her to stop playing as they noticed her exhaustion. Even Harry on the other side looked skeptical to continue playing although he was forced to hit back the ball when she finally managed to successfully serve.

She didn't listen.

She would play until the end.

Ace's vision started growing dark as the ball was sent flying back to her and she raised her arm to return it. She swung her racquet which collided against the ball with all the strength she had left, but she could feel the weight of it pressing harshly against her racquet and her grip slipping.

Whether through a miracle or because Harry didn't put as much power into it, a successful return was managed with a forehand. Her tennis racquet flew towards the net and she collapsed onto her knees.

She could barely see the ball dip to the ground deep on the other side of the court. Coach Harry looked absolutely stunned as the bounce he expected from the ball never came. A small amount of elation overtook her exhaustion momentarily as the tennis ball rolled across the court rapidly without a bounce.

Harry wasn't able to hit it back at all.

"Fifteen-Thirty!"

"I-I did it… I got a point…" She whispered as she finally fainted. She could barely hear the concerned cries shouts as sweet unconsciousness took her away.

* * *

 **A/N: While it's not a perfect game, Mario Tennis will always have a soft spot in my heart. Disregarding that, I haven't actually seen that many Mario Tennis stories which sort of surprises me. Especially ones involving the characters you play in the 'Story Mode.' There was only one completed Mario Tennis: Power Tour story that I found. The rest I found were dead. I honestly thought that if you changed it up a bit, added new things, and gave it a few new twists, then it would have a lot of potential for a sort-of novelization. I will state now that out of all the Power Shots that Clay/Ace (Tina/Max on European Versions I think) can use, only two or three will be used later. The rest are either inspired from other areas or completely unique. A couple, I think two are tennis shots that can be done in real life and may have another name here. In fact, one of them is even used here. I had a lot trading ideas and scratching my head on creating these shots with my long time friend and beta'er Makoto. An infinitesimal amount of thanks goes to him for doing all this with and for me.**

 **If you've actually read through this, then I appreciate it. I'm desperate for constructive review admittedly as well so if you have any, please list it. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Clay the Senior**

Ace could slowly feel her consciousness pull itself together as she struggled to open her eyes. The blinding light made it difficult, but she eventually pushed through to see a crème wall above her.

"Ahh. Are you awake ma'am?" A rather charming male voice came from a direction she couldn't quite distinguish yet.

Ace tried to sit up from her spot only to be gently pushed back down onto the rather comfy bed she was placed on.

"Please, stay down for now ma'am."

A man with clean silver hair and glasses entered her vision. From his attire, she guessed him to be some sort of doctor.

"W-Where am I?" She murmured quietly although the doctor seemed to be able to hear it anyway.

"You're in the infirmary. You collapsed during the Welcome Workout." He responded, gently smiling at her. "Do you remember anything?"

Ace slowly nodded as she recalled the events of what had happened.

"I think so… I-I was playing against Coach Harry. He was so strong…" She replied softly, remembering how almost every one of his shots had practically blown her racquet away. "I couldn't win no matter what I did."

The doctor sighed in defeat.

"I'm sure Coach Harry would be glad to hear that, but did you have to keep playing until you collapsed?" He placed his hands on his hips, lips scrunched together in a chastising manner.

Ace blushed in embarrassment.

"I c-couldn't give up. I didn't want to go back home and I wanted to play tennis here." She responded, causing a frown to appear on the clinician's face. "W-Who are you though?"

"Ahh, I apologize. How rude of me to not introduce myself." He quickly his facial expression with a polite smile before bowing. "I am Doctor Dan. I've been taking care of you since you played yourself into exhaustion for the last several hours now."

"S-Sorry." She apologized, hanging her head in shame. "I didn't mean to be an i-inconvenience."

"Now, don't be like that. It _is_ my job to handle matters like this." He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You have a visitor waiting outside for you."

She tilted her head in a questioning manner.

"I do?"

Dan nodded.

"As a matter of fact, yes." He turned to the open door in the far side of the medical room. "You may come in now. She's awake."

To her surprise, her most recent opponent entered the room. Her eyes widened as he strolled slowly to her bedside with a smirk on his faces.

"Hey kid! You're up!" Harry exclaimed cheerfully. "Great game yesterday! You really hung in there like a champ!"

Ace's cheeks blotted red from a mix of shame and pride. "Ahh, umm… T-Thanks I guess."

"There's no need to be shy. I'm pretty impressed with how you handled yourself out there!" The bulky man complimented loudly. "You've got great control over your shots but you need more power and stamina or you'll jus-"

"Eh-hem." Dan cleared his throat and coughed into his hand, interrupting Harry before he could continue. "Harry, this is an infirmary. Please lower your voice. Our patient is still rather tired, don't you think?"

"Right. Sorry doc'." Harry scratched his head sheepishly facing him before turning back to Ace with muted excitement. "You didn't finish the match with me but the way you played and kept going, you'll make it into Academy."

"I-I did?" Ace whispered, unable to fully comprehend what the coach said. "But I lost didn't I? I couldn't do anything against you."

Harry nodded, but the grin never left his face. "Well of course you couldn't. The others already know after all the matches, but you don't so I'll just say it. We weren't looking for speed or power or anything like that."

"Then… w-what were you looking for?"

"The will and drive to keep going kid. Even if things got hopeless, we wanted to see if people would keep playing their hardest and not just give up. Ya' know why?"

Ace shook her head, unable to think of the proper answer.

"Cause they're the ones that'll go far. They're the ones who'll keep training in tennis to get better. They'll do their best no matter what happens." He explained, pausing for a moment to allow the information to sink in. "It doesn't matter if you're the worst player in the world. If you never give up and practice, you'll always get better. If you throw in the towel before that, you'll never improve. That's not what any player wants, right?"

Once again, she shook her head.

"Right! Everybody wants to get better. But if you don't have the drive to make that happen, it's pointless. And that's why you're a shoe-in for the Royal Tennis Academy." Harry finished, grinning all the more merrily as Ace began to brighten up despite her obvious defeat. "Anybody who plays like you will go far. And don't even get me started on that last shot of yours. It was amazing!"

Ace's face lit up like a tomato. "I-I don't know how I did it t-though..."

"Just get someone to practice with you and see if you can do it again. I want to see you do it without fainting! I'll even ask someone to help out!" Harry failed to resist the urge to laugh boisterously. "When does she get out Doc?"

Dan smiled wickedly, pushing up his glasses as it glinted maliciously as he turned to Harry.

"Didn't I just say to lower your voice, Coach Harry? Perhaps _you'd_ like to be a patient here as well? You look like you need an examination."

The fact that he spoke in such a genial tone did not give any less fear for the giant of a man. In fact, Ace found it slightly funny how Harry had such a fearful look caused by someone a few inches shorter than him and much less muscle mass.

Harry glanced back, shaking his head furiously and waved his hands in a placating manner. "No no! Please! I won't do it again Doc! I promise!

"Good." The doctor nodded in acceptance and Harry sighed in relief at his safety. "As to answer your question, she can be released as soon as today. Luckily, there has been no real damage done to her besides the extreme exhaustion she suffered. I'd like to do one more checkup before I can release her. I can do that now while you speak to her about what she needs to know."

"Alright Doc." Harry said before facing Ace. "Now listen up kiddo since ya' missed out on this yesterday. There are three classes in the Academy. From lowest to highest, ya' got Junior, Senior, then Varsity. In each of those divisions themselves, ya' got ranks with four being the lowest and one being the top. Anyone else is unranked. Got all that so far?"

Ace nodded her head to show her understanding.

"Okay. Everybody starts unranked in Junior and you work your way up by beating each lower rank holder in a match. You can't skip any of them. If you're rank one at any point in Junior or Senior, you're allowed into the next class even if you lose your rank. Your Singles rank is also different than your Doubles Rank. You could be Varsity Singles Rank 1 but still be unranked in Doubles for Junior like Alex was."

Another nod from her gave Harry the assumption that she understood again.

"Speaking of Doubles, we had a partner session yesterday for everybody to group up whoever they wanted including the older players. You got some awful luck kid because there isn't anybody left except for one person who's been around for a while. He's an unranked Senior in Singles and nobody's paired up with him."

"So who is he?" Ace asked, curious about her would-be partner to which Harry chuckled.

"His name's Clay. He's a rascal, I'll tell ya' that!" Harry almost laughed enthusiastically before remembering the present threat now using his stethoscope. Instead, he grinned at the young girl looking at him questioningly. "Just look for him in the Junior courts tomorrow in the morning. He knows what you look like."

"I believe I'm finished now." Dan concluded off-handedly, slightly shocking Ace.

She had barely even noticed the doctor tending to her at all! He was done relatively quickly as well if him putting away his stethoscope was any indication.

"Your wrists and hands are miraculously undamaged despite the stress on them from repetitive returns from Coach Harry's power shots. Your muscles are a bit strained from usage however. Ideally, you would rest up for an extra three days on my watch. However, you tennis fanatics don't listen most of the time so I'll just advise that you get a good night's rest and not to push yourself as hard as you did from the Welcome Workout." Dan concluded, slightly surprising the teenage girl. "I better not see you in this office for at least a _week_ Miss Ace."

She agreed wholeheartedly with the doctor. If his glasses glinting again was any indication, he had something planned in case she failed to listen and somehow returned to the office. She didn't want to make anyone who could make muscle-head Coach Harry cower angry. That would be a terrible decision.

"I'll take you back to the Lodge, kid. Come on, let's go." Harry stated and Ace politely waved good-bye to the charming man of the infirmary.

"I expect you to know to take care of yourselves. I'll _graciously_ handle it if that's not the case though." He called out in a pleasant tone from behind as the two left the office.

It sent a shiver down Ace's back and she vowed not to return for a long while. She hoped her night would be dreamless or at the very least, wouldn't involve Doctor Dan in any way, shape, or form.

…

Ace yawned as she approached the Junior courts. If she had to describe it in one phrase, it would be 'very crowded.'

The gravel, Ace thought, was rather hard and would have a solid bounce along with decent ball speed from it. It looked funny as the entire ground was blue and tennis courts were marked with white lines to indicate the various areas such as the baseline and the service boxes. It was all boxed in with a steel fence to prevent balls from flying out. Players of varying ages crowded around courts watching matches and at the forefront and center of all the players, Coach Mark stood.

Ace had entered through the gate determined to find her partner that had been assigned to her, but now she felt the urge to just forget her current task and ask for a match from someone.

"Hey Ace, over here!" She heard a voice cry out and saw an older boy waving towards her.

He had dark brown hair compared to her own lighter shade. His attire consisted of comfortable tennis wear including a yellow polo with blue sleeves, blue athletic shorts, blue wristbands and white sneakers to top it all off. A blue and white tennis bag hung on his left shoulder while he waved his hand with his free arm.

She gave a polite smile at him and waved back as he walked up the stairs just outside the caged entrance to the courts to where she was standing.

"So you're Ace, the Workout Fainter huh?" He rhetorically asked, giving a scrutinizing gaze at the aforementioned female.

"W-What?" Ace was taken aback at that. "W-W-Workout Fainter?"

The teenage boy shook his head, smiling energetically. "Yeah! You're the only person in Academy history to faint ever since they had the Welcome Workout! Everybody's talking about it and they're calling you the Workout Fainter!"

Ace blushed in embarrassment and groaned as she buried her head into her hands while the male sheepishly scratched his head. It wasn't even a week in and already she had a title attached to her. She wasn't sure whether or not it was meant to be a compliment or a jest at her.

"Ahh!" He exclaimed as he remembered something important. "I almost forgot! I'm Clay and I'm your new partner! Now that you're here, I can finally play doubles!"

"W-wha?" She was surprised at his rather impulsive comment. "Oh, right. You weren't paired with anyone for a while now right?"

Clay beamed at her. "Yep. I got unlucky for a while but now I have you."

"I'll do my best. It's nice to meet you, Clay." She shyly smiled at him as the older boy scratched his head sheepishly.

"Nice to meet you too! You look like a pretty nice girl, even if you're not what I thought you looked like." He haphazardly commented while Ace tilted her head in curiosity.

"W-what do you mean not what you thought I looked like?"

Clay placed a hand under his chin in a contemplative pose. "Since you're the only one who's ever fainted in the Welcome Workout, I thought you would be scrawny and short or something. You're as tall as me."

Ace pouted and grumbled at the unintended insult. "I-I'm not scrawny or short…"

Clay laughed loudly as he pat Ace on the back in a friendly manner. "I know! Which is why I'm glad! Why don't we play against each other so we can see what we're like?"

"R-right now?" She asked, shocked that he would ask for something like a match so quickly. "Isn't it a bit sudden though?"

"Of course not! If we're gonna play doubles, we have to know how we play right?" He pointed out as Ace nodded, understanding the logic in it.

"So let's go! We can use the practice courts and just play one set. After that, we can head to the Service Ace and grab something to eat!"

And with that said, he proceeded to grab her arm and started running in the direction of the practice courts.

"H-hey! Slow down Clay!"

…

Ace sighed in defeat as she looked at her newest partner over to the other side of the court. It seemed that she was pulled into whatever he wanted to do.

She was also utterly wrong about him.

She had assumed that Clay was somewhat lonely like her seeing as he had no partner for a while. Instead, he was currently grinning like a madman while bouncing the tennis ball in his hand energetically.

"Are you ready?" He shouted from across the court, preparing to start the match with his serve.

She nodded and Clay tossed the ball up into the air and smashed the serve into her court. She promptly returned it back to him easily and he sent the ball in her direction once again.

She was confused at the rather easy ball flying towards her. As she used her forehand to strike it back however, she quickly learned why it had been sent back to her. Her wrist strained ever so slightly under the weight of the ball, but she successfully hit it back.

' _He's a power hitter too!'_

Just to confirm it once more, she continued rallying the ball directly back towards Clay. Being more prepared this time, she also began clashing with Clay's power hits with her own. It was clear that her power hits were inferior to his as she could barely see the enthusiastic smile Clay had once he struck the ball. The ball was placed far away from her quickly and she was unable to reach it.

"First point goes to me Ace!"

The twin-tailed brunette was hardly fazed as a plan already began forming in her mind.

' _It didn't work against Coach Harry, but it's not very likely that Clay is as good as him. I'll make him struggle to reach the balls and sap his stamina with my corner and between the leg shots. Bending his legs every time to hit the ball back will make him even more tired and he'll never be able to get a good power hit off.'_

Yes. It was a good strategy to initiate. It would also give her time to observe how fast Clay was in comparison to Coach Harry as well as how good he could control the ball. Harry had all of those wrapped into one package which was completely against the norm for a power player. She could already tell that given enough time, Clay would test her endurance if he continuously managed to play to his strength of hitting power balls. Power shots also drained a good amount of energy to return. The drain wouldn't be anywhere near as fast as her total defeat against Harry's, but she would tire out eventually.

The tactic was a great success. As soon as the second serve began, Clay began struggling to successfully return any of her shots. The curved ball placements in the hard to reach areas for him were beginning to play to his weaknesses. True to the power player style, Clay couldn't reach and position himself quick enough to prepare a power hit and the advantage already began tipping into Ace's favor.

The rally was long but Ace, finally finding a good opportunity, sliced the ball deep into Clay's court and right between his legs. He nearly tripped hitting it back properly from bending his legs which ended up in a ball too high over the net. Taking the chance, she leapt into the air and smashed the ball as hard she could leaving Clay no hope of countering.

"Fifteen-Fifteen Clay."

"Gahhhh!" Clay shouted in frustration, stomping his foot in a rather humorous fashion Ace found. "Damn it! You're one of those players!"

"Huh? One of those players?" Ace asked, slightly confused on what Clay meant.

He frowned at her, crossing his arms together in a huff of annoyance. "A technical player! You make it so that all your ball placements are hard for me to reach!"

"But… that's how I always play." She told him, watching as Clay looked even more miffed at her playstyle.

"It's just...! It's hard to do anything!"

And he was right. Ace easily took her first game from Clay's serve. Despite Clay having the first serve which could be considered one of the most important shots in the game, she managed to achieve break point.

However, Ace could feel her stamina already being drained from Clay's serves. A point was always played with at least two strokes if the serve was returned. With the serve as a free shot, Clay could freely put as much power into it as he wanted. It was easy for Ace to predict where it was going to go, but returning it without using too much energy was a different story. It was similar to Harry's own serve, but worse.

She hadn't been able to return Harry's serve at all mostly because her racquet was either blown away each time from the sheer force or from being unable to even reach the ball. It didn't consume energy unlike Clay's current serve.

At the same time though…

"Out!" Ace shouted as Clay's shot landed out of bounds in the doubles box.

"Damn it!" Clay shouted in frustration again, as his ball landed away from his intended area.

"That's 2-0. Your serve Clay." Ace announced as she tossed a few tennis balls over to her Senior opponent.

"Yeah yeah. But it's time for me to get serious! Just watch!" He smiled as he caught the balls and stored them in his pocket before positioning himself diagonally from Ace.

Before he could begin his serve, a loud voice cut and both players turned in its direction.

"Yo! Kid! Playing with your partner already?" The burly figure of Harry shouted as he walked over casually next to the court they were playing on.

"Coach Harry! And Coach Alex!" Ace cried out as the rush of playing slowly ebbed away and her shyness returned, replacing her enthusiastic analyzing tennis state. Her shoulder slumped and her cheeks blotched red as she faced the ground, embarrassed by the legendary former _players_ now coaches watching her play.

In lieu of all the hectic events for the past two days, she had completely forgotten that these were the former superstars of the Royal Tennis Academy who had won Island Open Championships. Harry was only involved in the Doubles tournament but his partner Alex had won both the Doubles section with him as well as the Singles section. Now they were coaches and they were approaching their match! It was inconceivable to her methodical mind.

"W-What are you doing here?" She asked shyly as the two retired players approached the court she was on with Clay.

"Hey, what happened to all your energy kid? What are ya' acting all meek for? Perk up!" He grinned at Ace brightly although it failed to make any difference on her timid posture. "Anyway, I saw you playing with Clay and I wanted to check up on you."

"H-Huh? Why?" She asked, turning to Harry.

"W-well…" He stuttered for a moment as he remembered the haunting aura of Doctor Dan. "Doc said that I should check up on ya' and make sure you don't go to the infirmary again for at least a week. If you do… I don't wanna talk about it."

His shiver was in plain view to the others as he could already recall the previous full ' _check-up'_ that he had with the doctor for failing to heed his words. He would do everything to avoid the terror known to the entire Royal Tennis Academy.

All except one person who looked at him as if he had grown another head.

Alex raised an eyebrow, unaware of what could possibly make Dan so fearful. "All this time and you're still scared of him Harry? I get along with him just fine."

"Coach Alex, you're the only one he doesn't scare! Everybody else is!" Clay exclaimed as even he could remember the previous diagnosis the doctor had on him.

"L-let's just not talk about it, alright?" Harry attempted to veer the conversation away. "Anyway, what's the score so far? You're winning, right Clay?"

"Sorry Coach. I'm losing 0-2." He answered, scratching his head sheepishly as Harry's jaw dropped.

"What!? Why? Aren't you a Senior? The kid isn't even ranked yet!" Harry bellowed out at Clay who only slightly flinched at Harry's loud tone.

"She's a technical player! I'm a power player! This is the worst matchup for me!" He refuted brashly, although the Coach look unamused at his excuse.

"You just came to me last week for tips on how to handle them!" The beefy man countered as the two of them began arguing with one another.

Alex walked over to Ace and sighed as he smiled at the amusing scene ensuing before him.

"Well, some things never change with Harry. But I wouldn't have any partner besides him." He spoke smoothly as Ace turned to him questioningly.

"I-Is it okay not to stop them?" Ace asked quietly although Alex picked up on it anyway.

"Yeah, it's probably fine. Harry might be a bit impulsive, but he knows where to draw the line. It's just friendly bickering." Alex answered calmly, smiling all the while observing as Harry and Clay began exchanging remarks and insults at each other.

"Musclehead!"

"You're a power player too kid! You should know that muscles help with that! All you've got is flab!"

"So? I'll bet you're slow to make up for all that! I'm probably faster than you old timer!"

"I'm only 27! You can't call me old or slow!"

"Why don't we have a match to prove that, _old man_?"

"Ha! You're out of your league, _kid_!"

Ace couldn't help but giggle softly at their childish comments thrown at each other. "I never expected any of the coaches to act like this."

Alex raised an inquisitive eyebrow at that. "Why's that?"

"It's just… At the Welcome Workout, all the coaches looked so serious like Coach Kevin and Emily. And then I see Coach Harry and it just feels… like he's a student here as well." She replied, finding it hard to accurately depict the current situation.

"I see." Alex nodded, understanding flashing on his expression. "Some of the coaches are actually like that. Most are more laidback like us, but the Welcome Workout needs everyone to be serious. The Royal Tennis Academy doesn't just accept anybody. We need to see if you're willing to go the distance to make your full potential bloom. Only the player can determine how hard they want to go, not the coach. We're there to help, but we can't force you to train or not to give up. That's why we need to know that you can do that yourself."

Ace took in the explanation and her analyzing mind compared it to Harry's version. He had said the same thing the day before in a similar manner, but Alex added a bit more depth to it as she understood it much better than before. It made sense in that only a person themselves could choose whether or not they wanted to throw in the towel. Others could help but if there was no will behind it, it would be pointless.

It was so similar to her old school where she played tennis. Ace enjoyed playing tennis there. Everyone trained hard and relished playing the sport there.

It also caused bad memories to surface near the forefront of her mind that she would rather not recall at the moment.

"Speaking of the Welcome Workout, I saw the special shot that you did against Harry. Ace, was it?" Alex brought up, causing Ace to light her face up in shock momentarily as she nodded at the call of her name. "I was the referee after all and Harry asked me if I could help you with it. I have to admit, it was impressive. Do you think you could do it again?"

"Ahh, umm…" She murmured before thinking of her answer. "I actually don't know how to do it or where to start."

"I see. That's a shame." Alex commented before thinking briefly about the situation. "Have you tried reverse engineering it? You seem like a smart girl so I thought you would have tried something like that already."

"Reverse engineering?" She repeated.

The coach nodded. "That's right. Normally, it's used for electronics but I find that it works well with understanding techniques and new shots too. That's how I managed to beat A. Coz from Factory during the Island Open Singles Tournament. I found out how his special slice shot worked so I knew how to counter it."

"Ahh..." Ace murmured to indicate she was listening to Alex's advice.

That definitely seemed reasonable. Reverse engineering worked by disassembling and analyzing something's workings in extreme detail. The same could also be theoretically used in special shots. For example, the Buggy Whip Shot was a tennis shot that went over the net in a crescent moon fashion. It was a technique that Ace couldn't use properly, but it was effective in forcing players to run around the court. The Buggy Whip utilized the shifting weight of the one leg to the other and while swinging the racquet upwards with a massive amount of topspin to achieve a centrifugal motion.

Ace looked at Alex in awe as she began to understand just how smart Alex really was in tennis.

"Not just anybody can do it though. You need a sharp mind and while Harry and I make one of the best teams in the Academy, he isn't always the smartest one around. That doesn't mean he's not a good player. Just that his strength lies elsewhere. There's also things that you can never really take apart. I would definitely know." The former champion lectured. "Your playstyle isn't actually too different from mine and I see Harry give tips to Clay frequently. I'm more of an all-rounder myself than a technician but who knows? Maybe your partnership will end up like ours."

"I hope so. Clay's umm… a rascal?" Ace found herself unsure how to really describe Clay while in the presence of Alex, the former champion. Rowdy, noisy, and wild could all describe her new partner well based on her impressions thus far in the short amount of time spent with him. Those sounded so insulting though and she didn't want to give a bad impression of herself in front of a coach.

To her surprise, Alex began laughing which caused both Clay and Harry to stop their argument and turn to him.

"Rascal. That sounds like something Harry would use to describe someone."

"Coach! Is that what you used to describe me!?" Clay glared at Harry again to which he promptly returned.

"Yeah! Suits ya' pretty well! What are you gonna do 'bout it kid?"

Alex quickly cut in between the two of them to prevent them from fighting once again. "Alright, that's enough from the two of you. Clay and Ace were still playing a match weren't they, Harry?"

"Oh yeah, you're right! My bad, Alex! I got carried away arguing with the little rascal here." Harry scratched his head sheepishly, ignoring the small glower from the younger player. "Why don't we make a contest?"

Alex cocked up an eyebrow, interest shining in his eyes. "Is that a challenge Harry? You know you won't win against me."

"Hey, I beat you in matches one, maybe two out of four times." Harry bristled, but shoved it aside as a grin was plastered on his expression. "Besides, it won't be _us_ playing directly. It'll be them!"

He pointed at Ace and Clay who looked shock to be pulled into a competition between the two.

"H-hey… do we get a say in this?" Ace muttered to nobody in particular although both coaches heard it anyway.

"Nope! Don't worry though! It'll help both you and rascal!" Harry denied, ignoring the loud 'hey' from his pseudo-student. "We'll both be watching you play and after every game, we'll coach the two of you directly and give advice. Alex will coach the kid and I'll coach rascal. Whoever wins has the loser do whatever they say just one time!

Ace sighed in defeat as she and Clay positioned themselves back into their spots. Once again, she was forced into something she didn't want to do.

' _Ahh… I don't want to just tell them I don't want to do it either. It'd be impolite to just say no now when Clay and the coaches look so excited.'_

The match resumed as Clay began his serve and Ace prepared herself to make sure she didn't lose. She didn't want to risk knowing what Clay would have her do if she lost. Like going back to Doctor Dan.

…

For a restaurant in the middle of campus of the Royal Tennis Academy, it was a large one. There were two floors along with comfortable chair and tables for the food laid on after ordering. Ace and Clay had seated themselves on the first floor. Clay had invited Alex and Harry to eat with them, but they apparently had business with a few other coaches so they had been turned down

Now it was just the two of them in a far corner of the Service Ace restaurant next to a window.

"I hate playing against technical players…" Clay moaned as he laid his head on his arms waiting for the food to be prepared.

"Ah… Sorry. That's how I normally play." Ace apologized as she sipped on the orange juice.

"What are you even apologizing for? If that's how you play, then that's it. I'm just complaining, that's all." Clay brushed away her apology and sat back up with a much more cheerful look. "Besides, you're fast and you aim your balls really well! Even your curved balls land in the corners!"

"T-Thanks." Ace blushed from the praise sitting up against the cushion where the two of them were seated. "You did well too. You got four games before I won."

"Man, you need to stop stuttering." Clay commented. "That's because Coach Harry told me to be more aggressive and use net play for more pressure after I hit a good power shot. Then I can keep making you hit balls where you don't want to hit."

Ace nodded at the rather smart counter to her own tactics. "I couldn't hit a lob properly. You made it difficult."

"Wasn't enough since you still won. What did Coach Alex tell you?" Clay asked, curious as to what the other coach had to say to his partner.

"To practice watching your movements carefully and determine where it's the most difficult for you to hit or most likely to miss instead of watching the ball sometimes. Also, to vary my shots more instead of just hitting to the corners or between your legs. That way, I'm more unpredictable." She replied happily, recounting the advice that Alex had given her. As a similar player, it had been easy for him to understand her mindset and give her tips on how to further improve her playstyle.

"Gahhhh!" Clay shouted in frustration. "Now you'll be even harder to beat when I play you again next time!"

Ace was slightly taken aback. "You want to play with me again already?"

"Of course!" He said energetically. "Just not today though. One day though, I'll beat you even though you're my new partner!"

"Oh… r-right." Ace stuttered quietly. "Do you think we'll work together well?"

Clay frowned at the subtle negativity laced in her question. "What are you talking about? Of course we will! You're a technical player and I'm a power player! It's the same kind of team as Alex and Harry and we're both pretty good. We'll definitely do well!"

"I guess you're right. The only thing we can do is to try our best." She stated with more fervor than before.

"Right!" He grinned brightly before placing his arm on the table vertically and leaning his chin into it. "Oh, Coach Harry said that I should ask you what kind of things I needed to work on. Coach Harry said you were really smart and that you're a bit like Alex. Did you see anything?

Ace nodded as her analytical mind began taking over, pushing aside her introverted nature for the moment.

"Yes. For a power player, your power is obviously very good." Clay beamed at his clear strength.

"Your speed is about average, but you still can't reach most of the cross court shots and corner shots that I hit so you need to improve that. You lack control in your shots and you hit a few outs throughout the match. For someone who had to run across the court numerous times, your stamina is quite good. However, it's a bit easy to tell where you're going to hit though that's also because of poor control." She continued explaining as Clay had various expressions of joy and pouting from his assets and weaknesses. "In short, it'd be a good idea to improve your control and speed more so you're not as vulnerable to technical players."

As she finished, Clay stared at her with a moderately awed look.

"Wow. Harry said you were smart but I thought he was joking."

Ace turned away in slight discomfort as her shyness returned. "Ahh. Umm… t-thanks."

"Now it's my turn!" Clay exclaimed as Ace laid her hands on her laps to prepare for Clay's own observations. "You're pretty fast and your control is amazing! Your sidespin shots just go wherever you want! You even hit shots between my legs and those were hard to return. It looked like you got tired really quickly though and you don't look like you have a lot of strength. If I can reach your balls, they're easy to hit back."

Ace nodded, noting her own flaws. It was good to get another perspective on what she had faults in. Strength was an obvious one, but she thought she had fairly decent fortitude. According to Clay, that wasn't the case.

"Fruit salad and boneless chicken. Ginger chicken and rice?" A waiter asked as he placed the food onto the table where the duo were seated.

"Yup! That's ours! Thanks!" Clay thanked as he promptly chomped into his food enthusiastically, displaying his hunger while Ace stared at him in slight amazement. He was literally guzzling his rice and chicken down at a much faster pace than she could ever hope to reach.

"What are you staring at?" Clay asked, although the words came out garbled due to his mouth being full. Ace giggled while her new partner looked at her confusingly.

' _I think I like my new partner. I hope we go far because we'll definitely do our best!'_

…

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Sorry I haven't written to you in a while. Things were really hectic when I moved into the Academy Dorms and I was too exhausted after I unpacked everything. Plus, I have a new partner for doubles. It's a dorm, but everyone just calls it the Lodge, so I guess I'll do that too._

 _Coach Harry explained more on how the Academy worked yesterday. They don't set any kind of practice schedule so I can choose what to practice and how long to practice it. I can even play an unofficial match with anybody I want as long as they say yes too. This sounds so lenient and I think that's why the entrance exam and Welcome Workout are so difficult. The classes are based on ability so the matchups look fair._

 _Sometimes, I wish you would be able to talk to me Diary. I miss Mom and Dad already. They said they'd support me no matter where I go, but they're still far away from me. My new partner Clay seems like a nice person and I think we'll go far. He's really hotheaded and loud, but I think he means well. Somehow, it suits his power hitter tennis style._

 _I had a match with him and Coach Alex and Harry both showed up. Alex is really smart and he says that I play a bit like him. I'm honored to know that my playstyle is a bit like his. He even helped me with my special shot that I used in the Welcome Workout. It was embarrassing that I fainted in the middle of it, but he didn't point it out. Maybe he knew I was embarrassed about it._

 _It's hard to believe they're Island Open champions with the way they act. It's really easy to talk to them and I never expected a champion like Harry bickering with Clay today. It's almost out of this world._

 _Anyway, Alex gave me advice on how the shot works while Clay and I were playing. I didn't tell Clay about this yet and he didn't seem to notice that some of my shots between his legs were actually attempts at it. Harry looked like he knew that, but he didn't tell Clay. Reverse engineering Alex said. The end result is a shot that rolls out of bounds through the baseline right as it lands instead of bouncing. To prevent the bounce, it requires an unprecedented amount of topspin while also aiming it as low and close to the baseline as possible. That way, I maximize the amount of topspin possible on my forehand swing to create enough friction to ignore the bounce and roll along the ground to prevent a stroke while making it difficult to hit back before it bounces. It already sounds difficult and inconceivable, but I did it in the Welcome Workout so it's possible._

 _I tried it out, but all of it ended up as low bounces that were hard to return for Clay. Alex mentioned that the topspin I provide isn't enough and I might need some outside assistance. My immediate thoughts turn to using the court or an opponent's slice shot. A hard court makes it too easy to bounce so I don't think it's possible to do the special shot there. A grass or clay court looks like it would work very well since they don't have good bounces. As for the opponent's slice shot, it'd be like the boost I need to perform it. Since my special shot needs topspin anyway, it helps me out dramatically. So far, it's looking to be a forehand topspin swing._

 _I think it's time for me to go to sleep. I really got carried away here. Sorry about that Diary. I think it makes up for not writing for the last few days though. So far, the Royal Tennis Academy seems like a fun place and I don't want to leave it so soon. Clay and the other coaches are really kind so far. Tomorrow, Clay and I are going to go training again to cover up some of the weaknesses we have in playing. Good night Diary. I'll let you know how it goes._

* * *

 **A/N: Anything that was said for chapter one in the Author's note could be said here. Most of why this is so late is due to an extreme amount of hectic things that occurred in life. However, this chapter is finally up. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. I am by no means, a tennis expert and just write upon the subject based on my knowledge to the best of my ability.**


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